Gulf Craft, one of the world’s leading boat and yacht builders, has announced a major expansion across Europe to meet growing demand from the continent, even as the UAE-based firm highlighted its industry-leading credentials in building composite superyachts at the Cannes Yachting Festival.

Gulf Craft has added eight new distribution partners across 12 countries in Europe including key markets such as Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal, among others, in addition to growing its global footprint in the US, Australia and the Middle East.

Leading the conversation around the innovative use of composites in its yachts, Gulf Craft also confirmed its membership in the Super Yacht Builders Association (SYBAss). Uniting and representing superyacht builders around the world, SYBAss will work with Gulf Craft and regulatory bodies to ensure the rules which impact superyachts take into account the unique nature of the vessels.

With Gulf Craft trailblazing the use of lightweight materials in its yachts, the membership will also help improve processes and structures within the industry and provide information and knowledge exchange.

A regular participant at major European yacht and boat shows for over a decade, Gulf Craft is showcasing its best-selling model, the Majesty 100 at the 2021 Cannes Yachting Festival, underlining its strengths in composite production superyachts. The Majesty is the flagship brand of Gulf Craft, which includes the Majesty 175, the world’s largest composite production superyacht which is scheduled to be handed over to its owner this month.

Speaking from Cannes Yachting Festival, Gulf Craft’s CEO, Talal Nasralla, said: “This year has been exceptionally robust for us with a strong order book and the delivery of our Majesty 175 and other superyachts. These have further established our strengths in manufacturing boats and yachts from composites – a method that is now gaining popularity in Europe, traditionally a steel boat market. We are now leading the global boating conversation around composite-built superyachts with strong demand from Europe and other global markets. To meet this, we have expanded our footprint in Europe.

“Our differentiating value proposition is our fully integrated manufacturing facility and our in-house design capabilities. Every aspect of the build of our vessels, from design concept, engineering, build and beyond happens under one roof. These enable us to deliver highly personalised boats that meet the aspirations of global yachting enthusiasts with a diverse bouquet of five brands for customers to choose from – the Majesty series, affordable Silvercraft family boats, Oryx sports cruisers, Nomad explorer yachts and Touring Passenger Vessels.”

With a significant increase of 42 per cent in new orders in the first half of 2021, Gulf Craft is now ramping up its production capacity and retailer network across the globe. “We can offer our customers in Europe a high-quality vessel to suit their needs. For instance, our Nomad SUV series is well suited to the Nordic region’s cooler climate because it has been designed with an enclosed cabin which is unique to explorer boats currently available in the market,” added Nasralla.

Gulf Craft has built more than 10,000 boats already, serving clients around the world. The 2019 AEU Safety Award Winner, Gulf Craft was awarded ‘Best in the Show’ at Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show for its 43.3m Majesty 140 superyacht.